Spread the word on new Adelaide festival

Get on your soapbox, spin a yarn, or explore writing and song lyrics -- all will be part of a new festival in Adelaide.

Word Adelaide will be held in August at a range of venues and will explore the power of words.

Actor/comedian Matt Lucas, of Little Britain fame, will be in town for the festival, as will Gary Kemp of the band Spandau Ballet and Guy Pratt who has played in bands including Icehouse; they will discuss the lyrics of their best-known songs.

Others on the program will include professor of language Roly Sussex and comedian Kitty Flanagan.

There will be a rapping competition, as well as one for writing, public readings and Aboriginal storytelling.

Creative director Jane Intini hopes the event, a one-off at this stage, can establish a point of difference on the nation's festivals calendar.

"I think it's time for something different, everybody has music and comedy and writing and all these different things that go on ... nobody has a word festival," she said.